Prepare for the Storm
by WriterFreak001
Summary: This is a survival story describing how a young Viking woman overcomes one of the hardest trials she had ever faced. Full description & trigger warnings on the inside.
1. Chapter 1

**WriterFreak001: **

I am very new fan to the _How to Train Your Dragon _saga but absolutely loved what I've seen so far! This is my first HTTYD: RTTE fanfiction story so I hope you enjoy it. 😊

**Title** | Prepare for the Storm

**Fandom** | _How to Train Your Dragon / Dragons: Race to the Edge_

**Description** | When Hiccup has to leave the Edge to stand in for his father as Acting Chief of Berk, Astrid volunteers to stay behind and watch the island while everyone else goes back home. One night while protecting the Edge, she was ambushed, attacked by one of Krogan's men and then left for dead. This is a survival story describing how a young Viking woman overcomes one of the hardest trials she had ever faced.

This story takes place somewhere within Season 5 after Hiccup and Astrid become an item but before the end of the series.

**Trigger Warning**| This story will include sexual and physical assault (not graphically described) in a later chapter.

**Rating**| This fanfiction will be rated T (for now).

**Disclaimer** | I don't own the HTTYD franchise, but I wish I did. XD

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"_If you listen to the wind very carefully, you'll be able to hear me whisper my love for you."  
_**― Andrew Davidson**

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**Prepare for the Storm**

**Chapter One**

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"How soon does he want me back?"

"Oh, aye. As soon as possible," Gobber replied with a smile to his ears as he scratched his back with his hook. "With everythin' goin' on out there and beyond, Stoick wol not take no as an answer. He told me that if yeh said no, I be taken yeh back by force."

Hiccup nodded and exhaled a silent sigh. "And where is it you said he was going?"

"Visitin' an old friend, I believe. Said somethin' about needin' to establish an alliance of some sort. Didn't get all the details, though. I'm sure yer father be tellin' yeh all of this when yeh arrive back home." Gobber crossed his arms in front of himself and waited for Hiccup to make up his mind.

"If it can't be helped, then I guess I'll have to go," Hiccup replied, concerned about the underlying cause for the possible alliance. But then a thought came to him. "Can the others go home to Berk as well?"

Gobber thought for a moment. "I can't imagine why not."

"Great." Hiccup enthusiastically punched his fist into his opposite hand. "I'll tell the others to start packing. We'll leave at first light." Hiccup left Gobber in the dragon stable and hurried down the boarded path to share the news. Toothless wasn't too far behind and eagerly followed him as he gathered everybody in the clubhouse to discuss the changes in their plans.

When everyone arrived, Hiccup leaned against the center table and crossed his arms as Toothless took a seat next to him. The young leader smiled at his dragon and gently rubbed his head. The Night Fury purred lightly and smiled his famous toothless grin as Astrid took a stand on the other side of Hiccup. Naturally, the future Chief of Berk slid his arm behind and around her and tugged her closer as she mimicked the same motion.

"You're probably wondering why I summoned all of you here…," Hiccup smiled awkwardly as everyone watched him closely while waiting for answers. He inhaled and exhaled a slow, deep breath before continuing. "The reason Gobber is here is because my father needs me to go back to Berk for a little while… Not sure how long, but with Krogan and Viggo still out there, Dad doesn't want to take a chance in leaving Berk without an acting chief. So, until my father returns from his trip, I'll have to remain in Berk for an undetermined amount of time. It could be a couple days or a few weeks. Hopefully not longer. Anyone who wants to go home during this time is welcome to travel with Gobber and me. Or at any other time during this hiatus. I'll leave that decision up to you guys. Whoever is coming with me, we will be leaving at dawn."

"A chance to go home and bug the heck out of my dad? Oh YEAH! Sign me up!" Snotlout smirked, raising his hand enthusiastically. "The Snot could use some good ole R&R." In response, Hookfang smacked the short Viking in the head and growled in annoyance. "Excuse me, sorry." Snotlout rubbed his head and glared at his dragon. "Correction: The _Snotfang _could use some good ole R&R."

Hookfang's nose flared in approval as he nodded in agreement.

Hiccup acknowledged Snotlout and Hookfang's desire to go back home and said, "Great. Gobber said something about Berk needing more Monstrous Nightmare saliva, so before you go, have Hookfang help you find all the other Monstrous Nightmare dragons to collect a healthy supply to take back home."

"Why should I listen to you?" Snotlout challenged, wishing he didn't have to work.

"Because Hiccup's the Acting Chief," Gobber replied automatically. "And if you don't obey his every command, you'll be tried for treason."

"Technically, Hiccup's not the Acting Chief yet," Snotlout shrugged with a smirk. "So his command is null and void."

"Hey!" Astrid snapped at the brawn Viking and held up a waving, tight fist, "If you don't listen to Hiccup, then you'll have to listen to _me. _I don't think you'll want to do that."

Snotlout gulped audibly as Hookfang laughed at his rider. "Fair enough." And before another word was said, Snotlout grabbed Hookfang's reigns and swiftly tugged him out of the clubhouse.

"Thanks," Hiccup muttered to his girlfriend, and she innocently smiled before he turned towards Fishlegs. "What about you, Fishlegs?"

The gentle Viking grinned as he stroked the top of Meatlug's head. "Going home does sound nice… It would be a good idea to drop off some Gronckle Iron for Gobber to make some solid defense weapons… you know since Chief Stoick will be away from Berk for a while. And you never know what might happen…"

Meatlug jiggled happily and snuggled against Fishlegs's arm. The blonde Viking beamed and hugged his dragon. "That's right, my little princess. We're going home!"

"Good idea," Hiccup agreed to Fishleg's offer. "Perhaps it also wouldn't be a bad idea to lead the other Gronckles to Berk in case we have a high supply and demand for Gronckle Iron."

Fishlegs grinned. "I agree."

"Hey!" Snotlout exclaimed from a side window. "Why do I have to collect saliva instead of leading the Monstrous Nightmares to Berk like Fishlegs is doing for the Gronckles?" Astrid immediately raised her fist again and glared at the Snot. "And nevermind. Actually, you know what's funny," he awkwardly laughed, "I forgot my question in the first place. Snotlout out!"

Snotlout never disappeared so fast.

"I've gotta do that more often," Astrid mumbled to herself as she shook her head in dismay, causing Hiccup and Fishlegs to laugh.

"As I was saying," Fishlegs continued with a soft smile, "I'll go ahead and pack my things before gathering up the other Gronckles on the island. We'll leave with you in the morning if that's okay."

"Sounds like a plan," Hiccup smirked and gave Fishlegs a thumb's up. "Tell Snotlout that if he plans to leave tomorrow, we'll all meet up in the dragon stables early in the morning. I'll sound the horn to wake everyone up."

"Okay!" Fishlegs exclaimed as he and Meatlug left to get ready for the flight back to Berk.

Gobber moved from his post and said, "While yeh finish talkin' to th'rest o'th'group, I'm gonna send a Terror Mail back to Berk to let yer father know that we'll be travelin' back in the mornin'."

"Good idea," Hiccup nodded as he watched Gobber leave before looking at the Nut twins. "Ruff? Tuff?"

Ruffnut yawned and stretched as Tuffnut noisily wiped his nose across his forearm. "Damn. That wasn't gross enough." Tuffnut looked up from his snot-covered arm and noticed everyone looking at him. "Did I miss something?"

Ruffnut glanced at her brother and then followed his eyes to the rest of the group before raising her hand. "I second that question!"

"He asked if you guys were planning on going back to Berk or not." Astrid re-emphasized with a sigh. "Honestly, don't you two ever listen?"

"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Tuffnut twisted his finger in his ear and then smirked in response to Astrid's glare.

"You heard me."

"Well," Ruffnut shrugged, "I guess I wouldn't mind going home. I definitely need to cause some well-deserved havoc to some well-deserved people."

"No way," Hiccup frowned and shook his head fiercely, "there will be none of that while you're in Berk under my watch," (But the twins acted like he wasn't even there and continued their conversation as if they were the only ones in the room.)

Hiccup and Astrid shared an annoyed glance but didn't say anything more as they waited for the twins to finish their conversation.

Tuff sneered and shot his hands up proudly. "Yeah! People like… like… like… Snotlout! We haven't done anything to him in years, and he won't expect a thing."

"Well… that's not entirely true… we did kind of him into our boar pit yesterday… and then placed a hive of bees under his bed on the day before…" Ruffnut corrected her brother.

"Oh yeah," Tuff replied in agreement but then his lips twisted to his ears. "But tomorrow will be a new day, and we can start from scratch."

"You're so right!" Ruff matched her brother's lopsided grin and gave him a high-five. The twins stood up and headed for the door. "We'll be ready bright and early in the morning."

"Yeah, and in case you didn't know," Tuff added while dramatically waggling his forefinger, "we're bringing Barf and Belch with us."

"I… never doubted it for a second," Hiccup scratched the back of his neck and offered them a forced smile as Astrid and Toothless rolled their eyes, shaking their heads in dismay. Barf and Belch swayed as they followed the Nut twins outside, obviously proud to claim them as their riders. "They are definitely something else…" Hiccup quietly muttered.

Toothless slowly nodded and let out a breathy laugh.

"Tell me about it," Astrid replied as she turned towards Hiccup with a small smile. "But regardless of how crazy they are, they surprisingly have really good instincts and fight really well when riding."

"Very true," Hiccup agreed with a chuckle before angling himself towards her. Toothless and Stormfly exchanged knowing glances and then grinned at their riders before sneaking out to play. Both Hiccup and Astrid noticed their dragons' discreet retreat and smirked before facing each other completely. "Well?" Hiccup took Astrid's hands into his own and caressed her knuckles with his thumbs. "Are you coming back to Berk with me? I mean… you never said what you were going to do… I mean… I'd really like you by my side while I'm Acting Chief."

Astrid lifted her palm and caressed Hiccup's cheek, touched by his sincerity. "As much as I want that too, I think it might be a good idea if I stay behind and protect the Edge. As you said, with Viggo and Krogan out there, we can't afford to leave Berk unprotected while your father is away. That being said, the same thing goes for here…"

She laced her fingers with his and tugged him towards the clubhouse door before escorting him towards his hut. They shared a smile when they saw Toothless and Stormfly tackling each other in the sand below. Toothless was the first to spot them and snapped at Stormfly before giving the couple his biggest, toothless smile. Stormfly, however, retaliated and swatted Toothless with her tail, knocking him over. Astrid and Hiccup laughed at their dragons as Toothless shook himself before glaring at a snickering Stormfly.

"As you can see and already know, we have a lot to protect here… not only the Edge itself, but also the dragons who call this island their home." As if on cue, a group of Night Terrors flew above them as a pair of Terrible Terrors scampered across the island's sand. "We don't know what Viggo and Krogan are planning next," Astrid continued as she lightly touched Hiccup's shoulder, "and if we all leave, it gives them a chance to take over again… You and I both know we can't afford to lose the Edge to the Dragon Flyers, and we definitely can't abandon the inhabited dragons on this island after working so hard to save them from those very threats."

Hiccup nodded slowly, understanding where Astrid was coming from. "We can have Gobber stay and protect the island…"

Astrid laughed quietly. "As much as I like Gobber, he doesn't know the island like we do… like I do. And Stormfly is faster than his dragon. Since everyone else is going back home to Berk, I'm the most qualified to stay here and protect our fortress."

Hiccup didn't like what he was hearing, but he knew Astrid had a valid point. "You're right," he nodded and brought her hand to his mouth. "You're absolutely right."

A soft smile colored Astrid's rosy lips. "Hiccup, you're going to be a great Acting Chief. I know it was harder when we were younger to stand in for your father because of your lack of battle experience, but we've been through so much since then. You're the best strategist of all of us, and you're quick-thinking too. The people of Berk respect you a lot more now than they did back then because of how much they depend on you… on all of us… to help keep Berk safe from threats like Viggo and Krogan. I know that if you need to make a hard decision for Berk, whatever course of action you decide will be what's best for our people. I believe in you so much, Hiccup. You know that, right?"

Hiccup nodded with a small grin as he slid his arms around her, slowly drawing her closer. He leaned in and pressed his lips against her forehead. "You always know exactly what I need to hear. I'm going to miss you, Astrid."

"I know," she closed her eyes and embraced him tighter. "I'll miss you too."

A thousand different thoughts started swimming through Hiccup's head as he rested his chin on top of her hair. They didn't move away from each other for several minutes, and even in his silence, Astrid seemed to always know what he was thinking.

"Hey," she took a step back from him and cupped his cheeks in her soft hands. "Everything is going to be all right. Okay?"

Hiccup turned his head slightly to kiss her left palm before wrapping his own fingers around her hands and bringing them to his chest, right in front of his heart. "I know. I know, but I can't help but already worry for you. A lot of things could go wrong, and I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if anything ever happened to you while you stayed behind."

"Something could happen every day, Hiccup. Yes, it will be a risk for me to stay here alone when everyone else is in Berk, but it'll be an even greater risk if we all left the Edge unguarded. You have your workshop here, and I know you don't want Viggo or Krogan to know about the second Dragon Eye. Even if you have the Dragon Eye 2 on your person in Berk, without someone staying behind, either one the two could send scouts to survey the area and snoop around our base. We can't afford to be careless, Hiccup."

"I understand, Astrid. I really do, and I have complete faith in your abilities as a rider and a fighter, but please, promise me that if any trouble comes to the Edge, then you'll leave for Berk immediately. I don't want you going against any fleet of Dragon Flyers alone on Stormfly; it's too dangerous." Hiccup placed his hands on top of Astrid's shoulders as he waited for her reply.

"I promise," Astrid touched her forehead to his and closed her eyes as their fingers found their way back to one another, "that I will try my hardest to defend the Edge on my own, but if I come across a threat I can't handle, then I swear I will return to Berk." Astrid leaned forward and kissed Hiccup's cheek.

"I said if _any _threat…, Astrid… not just threats you can't handle…" Hiccup pursed his lips and cocked an eyebrow as Astrid chuckled.

She circled behind him and took a few strands of his hair into her fingers and slowly began braiding them together. "I know what you said," Astrid brought her lips closer to Hiccup's ear, "but if you think I'm going to run back to Berk and not even attempt to protect the Edge, then you're crazy." She tied the braid off with a small band that she had had in her pocket and walked back around him to see the smirk plastered to his lips.

"Astrid, since when have I _not _been crazy?" he challenged as he swiftly poked his fingers at Astrid's stomach, causing her to step backwards while trying to block his playful attack.

The Viking warrior lightly pushed the acting chief away from her to evade his finger-pokes and immediately turned away from him, trying so hard not to laugh in the process. She dashed across the wooden walkway and pushed her way into Hiccup's hut. Her boyfriend surprised her, however, as he snuck in the backway and swooped her in his arms from behind, causing her to lightly shriek.

"Come here, you!" Hiccup exclaimed with a loud chuckle as he began tickling her stomach from behind. Astrid wiggled her body to try to get away from him, but his arms were a lot stronger than he gave himself credit for. Astrid couldn't help herself and doubled over in Hiccup's embrace, unable to take anymore of his tickle attack. Hiccup fell forward, losing his balance, and ungracefully fumbled over Astrid. Neither Viking was sure how it had exactly happened, but the next thing they knew, Astrid had ended up on top of Hiccup in a very compromising position.

As if enchanted or just completely mortified, however, neither moved away from the other.

Hiccup's eyes deeply gazed into her sky-blue irises as he thickly swallowed his nerves. "H-Hi." He forced an awkward toothy smile and did perhaps the most embarrassing thing ever.

He waved.

In that moment, he wanted the floor beneath him to swallow him whole as he mentally smacked himself for his ridiculous awkwardness. However, Astrid didn't ridicule him as she slowly laced her fingers with his and smiled. "Hi."

Just when he thought nothing else could possibly humiliate him more, he noticed Astrid's blushing cheeks when his arousal became _very _apparent to her. She sat up, embarrassed for poor Hiccup, not realizing that when she had landed on top of him, her legs had straddled his hips, which as she moved, she made the evident source of their embarrassment worse.

Hiccup's throat began to tighten as Astrid froze, unsure if she could trust herself to move without affecting Hiccup. "Sorry," she mumbled, her cheeks flaming. "Do you want me to get up?"

"No, no. It's all right. Um…," Hiccup cleared his throat, "I'm probably not going to be getting up any time soon so, uh, just uh, just lie back down if you want. That was a little bit more comfortable."

"Are you sure?" Astrid bit her lip and flushed.

"Yes. Yes, Astrid. I'm sure." Hiccup replied with a little more confidence. Astrid slowly lowered herself back down to Hiccup but slightly adjusted herself so that her legs weren't straddling his hips.

"Feel… better?"

"Much." Hiccup nodded as he gently brought his right hand to her cheek. She blushed deeply and leaned into his palm and smiled slowly.

"Can I ask you a question?" Astrid bit her bottom lip, unsure if she should continue or not.

"Of course."

"Have you ever… thought about… us…?" Astrid's whole face went beet red.

"I think about us all the time," Hiccup answered honestly with a grin.

"No, I mean… Do you ever… think about… you know… us in an intimate way?" Astrid couldn't look away from his eyes but at the same time, she was afraid of what his answer might be.

"Oh. Oh!" It finally clicked. "You… uh… you mean what two people do together to establish a sacred union…" he paused for a moment before answering carefully. "Would you, uh, hit me if I said yes?"

Hiccup's blush matched Astrid's as she countered his response with, "would you hit me if I sometimes do the same?"

Hiccup slowly shook his head. "Never."

And like a moth to a flame, their mouths crushed together in a heated kiss. Neither knew who advanced whom but neither cared. Astrid's fingers got lost within Hiccup's thick, wild hair as he slid his arms around her until his palms rested on the small of her back. The sudden pool of desire both teens were feeling as they deeply kissed was unchartered territory, but neither wanted the intensity between them to end.

Somehow, in the crazy passion erupting between them, Hiccup found himself on top of Astrid, his hands now trapping hers against the floor above her head as they furiously kissed. He fluttered kisses along her jawline and down her neck until he reached a sensitive spot just above her collarbone.

A rather loud, foreign sound escaped from Astrid's lips as her head tipped backwards in response to his ministration along her neck. Immediately, Astrid clamped her hand over her mouth as Hiccup froze, his mouth still touching her soft skin. As if the timing couldn't get even worse, the door to Hiccup's hut burst open as Stormfly and Toothless flew in, both growling as if there was danger near.

The teens separated from each other instantly as their dragons cautiously walked up to them.

"What's wrong, girl?" Astrid asked Stormfly as the blue dragon nuzzled her nose against Astrid's cheek.

Hiccup rubbed underneath Toothless's chin, asking the same question. When the dragons realized there wasn't an immediate threat, they calmed down and plopped to the floor next to their riders.

"Why do you think they acted like that?" Astrid asked as she stroked Stormfly's head.

Hiccup was silent for a moment before an amusing smile colored his lips. "I think I know."

"What?"

Hiccup surprised her when he moved in closer to her again and kissed her hard on the lips. Astrid, surprised, leaned back as Hiccup crawled on top of her, wondering what he was trying to prove.

And then he did that thing again… moving his lips down to her collarbone and kissing her softly against her neck. Except, this time, Hiccup felt a little more courageous and fluttered his tongue against that same, erogenous spot on her neck. Astrid bit her lip in response as she let out a second moan, to which their dragons growled.

Next thing she knew, Hiccup was bursting out laughing against her. "I knew it."

"Care to clue me in?" Astrid cocked an eyebrow and frowned. What exactly was he seeing that she wasn't?

Hiccup rose to his feet and helped Astrid stand up before kissing her cheek lightly. He chuckled and then smirked. "They thought you were crying for help."

Astrid took a moment to process Hiccup's response. "What?! No…" She covered her face in complete embarrassment. She uncovered one eye with her fingers. "You really think so?"

"It's kind of obvious," Hiccup let out a laugh.

"Just kill me now," Astrid buried her face again, flushing madly.

Hiccup removed her hands from her face and cupped her cheeks. "Hey, look at the bright side."

Astrid frowned. "Which is…?"

The dragon rider smirked. "Well? The more they hear that sound, the more they'll get used to it, and the more they get used to it, the more they'll realize you're not in any imminent danger."

Astrid's jaw dropped, but she couldn't help but laugh. "Hiccup, I can't believe you said that!"

"Just telling you how I see it, milady," he grinned as she swatted at him.

"Don't you need to be meeting Gobber sometime soon?"

"Don't really want to…, but I guess it can't be helped," Hiccup sighed. "When I get done, I want to steal you away for the rest of the day if that's all right."

"Oh I think that could be arranged," Astrid replied dramatically before laughing. "Of course, you idiot. Just tell me when and where, and I'll be there."

"Meet me at the cove on the other side of the island when the sun is directly overhead. I should be done talking to Gobber by then." Hiccup said as his arms enfolded around her. She embraced him tightly as they shared another brief, but passionate kiss.

"Now," Astrid combed and smoothed down Hiccup's unruly hair gently before straightening up his clothes. "as Acting Chief, you will need to look presentable whether you're here on the island or on Berk. If you look like you just walked through a wind storm, people will start rumors about you… _about us._" She smoothed down the last of his stubborn locks and moved slightly back when she was done.

"Well, considering the fact that you've decided to stay here, I don't think that'll be an issue," Hiccup smirked as he kissed her button nose. "Now, I would really much rather stay here with you then go see Gobber, but the last thing I want is for him to track me down… He has a bad habit of barging in unannounced."

Astrid nodded and curled a strand of her hair behind her ear. "While you and Gobber are discussing some things, I'm going to take Stormfly out for a while… have her stretch her wings some before going to the cove."

Hiccup scratched his chin. "Do you want me to fix your hair before I go?"

"Nah," she laughed as she began pushing him out the door. "I'll just blame the wind."

Hiccup nodded. "Okay, well in that case…" Without warning, Hiccup ran his fingers through Astrid's hair and made it three times as worse as it originally was. "There. Now you _really _look like you were just flying in the wind."

Without another word, the Acting Chief ran away from Astrid and towards the clubhouse as swift as he could, and she just rolled her eyes and laughed. "That goofball."

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**WriterFreak001: **

**Yay! Chapter 1 is finished! I had planned for this chapter to be shorter, but I decided this was a good stopping point. :) I'm new to the HTTYD fandom so I apologize if any character is Out of Character. I tried my best. **

**I hope you enjoyed this story so far!**


	2. Chapter 2

**WriterFreak001: **

I'm glad several people have enjoyed the story so far on and AO3! Some readers asked me if I could write a happier story after this one is finished, and my reply to that is, YES! :) I'll definitely be writing happier Hiccstrid fics. For some reason, this plot bunny wouldn't leave me alone, so it just happens to be my first story for HTTYD.

I still hope you stick with this story even though it circles around a dark theme.

And please know that I will include a trigger warning at the top of the chapter (not sure which one it'll be yet) that features the darkest part of the story. For now, other than for the first chapter, I'm going to remove the trigger warning so that people know which chapter they want to skip if they should choose to skip it.

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"_Being deeply loved by someone gives you strength while loving someone deeply gives you courage."  
_**― **Lao Tzu

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**Prepare for the Storm**

**Chapter Two**

Hiccup and Toothless landed softly in the sand after spotting Astrid sitting on one of the larger boulders as Stormfly tried catching fish. The Acting Chief stroked Toothless's head before the dragon rushed off to play with Stormfly while he slowly approached his fair maiden.

"And how was your ride, milady?" Hiccup grinned as he climbed on top of the rock and took a seat next to her. She automatically leaned towards him and enfolded their hands together.

"It was thrilling," Astrid beamed as she turned towards Stormfly who was smacking her tail against Toothless' head, probably for doing something stupid. The couple chuckled and turned their attention back to the ocean. "We didn't fly far, but we sure flew fast; it was absolutely exhilarating! Sometimes it's nice to fly without the others; I don't know why, but… it just makes me feel more…"

"Free?"

Astrid nodded with a smile. "Yes, exactly."

"I totally get it," Hiccup agreed as he leaned over to kiss her temple. "When I'm with Toothless, and there's no other distractions, we like to fly as fast as we can without holding back. While yes, it is very exhilarating, it's also a nice escape from the real world."

"I know right?!" Astrid exclaimed enthusiastically. "The first time I flew on a dragon… it was magical; being able to see the clouds, the sunset and Berk from the sky? It was so surreal."

Hiccup smirked, recalling the memory. "And if it wasn't for Toothless, I'd probably still be the village loser, and we more than likely wouldn't be together."

"What makes you say that?" Astrid asked as she pressed her cheek to his shoulder. "I mean, sure, without Toothless, you might have still been a total loser, but that doesn't mean anything regarding our relationship."

"Doesn't it, though?" Hiccup asked absentmindedly as he watched a few of the island's dragons fly towards the horizon, "I don't know if I ever told you this, but I've had a crush on you years before Toothless, but it took flying a dragon for you to even notice I existed."

"Sometimes, Hiccup," Astrid poked firmly at her boyfriend's chest, "it's the little things you do that get noticed the most." She leaned upward and kissed his cheek. "Sure, I didn't avidly talk to you when we were younger, and I admit, I picked on you _a lot_, but… truth is," she smiled as she curled a strand of hair behind her ear, "contrary to what you might think, I secretly liked you way before Toothless too."

Hiccup's eyes grew wide, completely shocked. "Whaaa? Really? I mean, how did I not see it?"

Astrid let out a laugh. "Because I purposely pretended I didn't." Her cheeks flushed deeply. "I mean… I was… I don't know, intrigued by you. You were different than the others, and, well… you stood out to me."

"So all that time…," Hiccup mumbled as he processed Astrid's confession, "when you shoved me out of the way or tackled me to the ground for saying or doing something stupid, it was out of adoration?"

Astrid shrugged and turned towards the ocean but spotted a bird on the shore and stared at it for a moment before replying. "I was born a warrior, Hiccup. My family trained me to fight so that when the time came, I would be able to battle dragons when I was old enough. My parents taught me to be strong-willed and never to quit. I admit, the first time we met, I thought you were the weirdest human being alive. And… I was also a bit jealous."

"Jealous of me? Really?" Hiccup never knew any of this. "Why?"

"Because I could tell, underneath your father's hard exterior, he cared very much about you even though you were small and weaker than the other kids. Don't get me wrong, I love my parents very much and wouldn't trade them for the world, but… there were times when I was younger that I wished just once they would see me as their daughter and not their should-have-been son." Astrid noticed a small pebble beside her and picked it up, tossed it in the air and caught it. "So yeah, I was a bit jealous of you at first."

"Then what changed your mind about how you originally felt about me?" Hiccup asked, curiously. He gently placed the palm of his hand on top of Astrid's head and patted her before pulling her closer to him.

Astrid slowly wrapped her arms around Hiccup and closed her eyes as she pressed her temple to his chest while inhaling his earthy scent. "Remember when you found me hiding out on that cliff during that terrible storm?"

"Yeah," Hiccup nodded with a smile, "We were six or seven, I think… I overheard your parents telling my father that you had been missing for many hours past the time you were supposed to be home. My father's greatest fear was that a dragon stole you away just like what happened to my mom. He organized a search party, and everyone was looking in the most obvious places in case you were hiding somewhere. But even back then, I knew that if you were hiding, it was because you didn't _want _to be found. So the most logical place to look was high ground. It wasn't long before I found you sitting on the edge of the cliff, alone, and soaked to the bone from the rain. Seeing you like that worried the yak out of me."

Astrid smiled at the comforting thought, not realizing just how deep Hiccup's feelings were for her even back then. "Yeah, I could tell."

Hiccup nodded as he recalled the memory. "I asked you what you were doing up there, and you told me to go away – that it was none of my business."

"And if I recall correctly," Astrid grinned at him, "you refused to leave and sat down right beside me and said you were going to stay there for as long as I was."

Hiccup awkwardly scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, I was a stubborn little guy back then."

"You still are," Astrid smirked while taking his hand in hers and squeezing it gently. "Do you remember what happened next?"

Hiccup slowly nodded. "I asked you if you were going to jump off the cliff. And you said," he cleared his throat, attempted to make his voice sound just like Astrid's. "'I'm not going to jump, you muttonhead! I'm running away!'"

"I do _not _sound like that," Astrid giggled as she punched him lightly on the shoulder.

"Yes, you do," he chuckled as he moved to tickle his girlfriend's sides. She squirmed under his light, feathery touch and twisted side to side to evade his tickle attack. In the midst of the playful assault, Astrid somehow wound up sitting between Hiccup's legs with her back flush against his stomach. When she was right where he wanted her, Hiccup stopped tickling her and enveloped her in his tight embrace. Astrid's arms rested on top of his as she tilted her head back far enough to see his face.

"You planned that," Astrid squinted her eyes at him, and he shrugged innocently.

"Maybe I did. Maybe I didn't." He grinned before dropping his mouth to hers and kissing her slowly and deeply.

When they gently departed, Astrid gave him a crooked smile. "You totally did." She brought her head back up and closed her eyes again as she leaned into his embrace. "Anyway," she continued her trip down memory lane, "what you said to me next, well, I never forgot it, and I never will."

Hiccup pretended not to remember. "I say a lot of things. Remind me what it was I said again?"

She lightly elbowed him in the ribs, causing an audible 'Oomph!' from him before she responded. "You know what you said."

"I know," he was quick to reply. "I remember."

Astrid wanted to be sure as she crossed her arms in front of her. "Prove it."

Hiccup leaned forward, tightened his arms around her and leaned forward, bringing his lips to her ear. When his voice spoke, she shivered from the warmth and closeness of his breath. "If you're running away," he lightly kissed the spot behind her ear for an added effect, "then I'm coming with you," he paused briefly. "And then you punched me."

Astrid giggled. "That's right! I did! I punched you and told you to go back home and leave me alone. And yet… you still didn't leave."

"No. I didn't, and I'm glad I didn't. Because if I did, we may not be where we are today," Hiccup stated proudly. "

"No… we probably wouldn't be…" Astrid agreed as she brought his palm to her lips. "But what you said next," she continued, "is what really touched me."

Hiccup kissed the back of her head and closed his eyes as he mumbled words he once said against the back of her neck. "No one – no matter how tough they are – should be alone. So you can stay out here all you want or run away, but either way, you won't be alone anymore because I'll be right beside you."

His words to this day gave her goosebumps. "I never forgot those words you said to me that day, and it made me realize that even though you were smaller than everyone else, you had the biggest heart in all of Berk. For the first time in my life, I felt like someone actually cared for me _as _me and not as someone I was supposed to be. And even today, that hasn't changed."

"I respect you, Astrid. You know that," Hiccup laced their fingers together. "I always have, and I always will." The Acting Chief smiled as she turned to look up at him. "But if I recall correctly, even after I said all that to you, you still shoved me back down to the ground and stormed away angrily as you stomped back home."

"What did you expect?" Astrid laughed out loud, "A kiss?"

"Wouldn't have been a bad thing," Hiccup mumbled more to himself than to her, causing her to elbow him in the ribs again. "Kidding."

Astrid rolled her eyes dramatically. "Anyway," she replied mindlessly, "when I came back home, my parents were so happy and grateful that I wasn't hurt or eaten by dragons. And since then, though they still trained me to fight, they treated me with more respect and love then I was ever used to. I almost regretted ever thinking about running away, but if I didn't have the courage to possibly leave, my parents and I wouldn't have the strong bond we have today. Which proves that everything is the way it's supposed to be, Hiccup."

Astrid turned over, tucked her legs behind her knees and straddled her boyfriend's hips as she moved her hands to caress his face. Hiccup closed his eyes at the simple touch and kissed her thumb when it touched his lips.

"There's no sense in thinking about the what-ifs, Hiccup," Astrid pressed her lips to his cheek. "We're here today because of everything that's connected to our past. So… yes, maybe certain parts of our relationship are the way they are today because of Toothless, but so what? The important thing is what's happening now."

She leaned in and kissed him fully on the lips as her arms strung around him until her fingers threaded with his thick locks. "_This_ is what's important, Hiccup. Us. You. Me. The Edge. Toothless and Stormfly. Our friends and our families. Berk. All of it. We could sit here talking about possible scenarios all day, but what really counts is what's right in front of us."

Hiccup nodded silently and then smiled a soft grin. "You're right, Astrid. Completely right."

"And don't you forget it," she smirked as she climbed off of him and walked over to Stormfly to stroke her neck. Hiccup slid off of the boulder and made his way to Toothless who was rolling around in the sand. At the sight of his rider, the Night Fury flipped back over onto his feet and gave Hiccup his famous toothless smile. Hiccup rubbed his dragon's head and watched Astrid press a light kiss against Stormfly's cheek, and he couldn't help but smile at the sentiment.

"You know," he and Toothless slowly approached the other two, "you two make quite the pair."

"So do you and Toothless," Astrid noted with a colorful smile as she tickled Toothless's chin, to which he purred lowly, causing the couple to laugh.

"You and I…" Hiccup moved closer to Astrid and took one of her hands in his as he caressed her cheek with the other. "… make quite the team too," he said with a smirk before leaning in to kiss her softly. "in more ways than one." Hiccup paused for a moment. "Okay, that sounded a lot better in my head than it did out loud… too weird?"

Though Astrid's cheeks were blushing a ddep shade of pink, she giggled. "You did sound a little too much like Snotlout with that last line."

"Bleh," Hiccup feigned a gag, causing Astrid to laugh even more. "I really need to stop hanging around him too often."

"As uncharacteristic as it was coming from you, it was still sweet," Astrid cupped his cheeks gently. "But I agree, you do spend way too much time with that weirdo." Astrid pecked a kiss on his lips before taking his hand and leading him back to the boulder. They climbed up and took a seat next to one another with their arms touching. "It is really beautiful out there, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" but Hiccup wasn't looking at the horizon.

Astrid turned towards him and flushed a deep shade of pink when she realized his eyes were only focused on her. Hiccup quietly took her hands in his and pulled her closer before moving in to kiss her again.

There was so much electricity within that one kiss that as she moved to lay against the rock, Hiccup followed and boldly climbed on top of her, never breaking the kiss. Their bodies were flush against the other, and Hiccup's desire to continue what they were doing her _and more _was very evident, causing her to abruptly tear away.

"Hiccup-" she started but her boyfriend shushed her with another hard kiss as he linked their fingers together. His tongue sought refuge with hers inside her mouth, causing her to moan like she did earlier in Hiccup's hut.

When he finally pulled away, she thought she was seeing stars.

"Please come back to Berk with me," Hiccup quietly pleaded as he rested his forehead against hers, his words bringing her out of her reverie. He paused for a moment, but he gripped her shoulders gently and continued. "You're my greatest strength, Astrid; I don't know if I can stand in for my father without you by my side."

The blonde beauty shook her head slowly, but her eyes never left his. "I need to stay here," she spoke softly while he closed his eyes in defeat. Her lashes closed for a moment as she collected her thoughts before saying them. She slid her fingers from his loose grip and caressed his cheek, causing him to look at her once again.

"In more ways than one, you _are _your father's son, Hiccup. You might not have the same stature as Stoick, but you're strong at heart. You are a brilliant strategist, and you care about the people of Berk very much. You have everything you need to govern over Berk while your father's away. Don't sell yourself short, Hiccup, because you're anything but…"

She smiled slowly and kissed his chin before continuing.

"I've said this before, and I'll say it again." Astrid combed her fingers through his thick, brown locks and briefly kissed him. "I have faith in you, Hiccup Haddock. If anyone is capable of leading Berk while your father is gone, it's you. And," she lightly shook her head, "even though I've decided to stay at the Edge, I'll be thinking about you every day you're gone. You don't need me by your to tell you that you are qualified as a leader – because you already are.

"I have seen you time and time again put the people of Berk first before yourself, and if that's not worthy of being a leader, then I don't know what is." She placed her right hand over his heart. "You're brave, loyal, trustworthy and friend to all. You know your limits, but you don't let them stop you from achieving your goals and dreams. Because of you, Berk has changed for the better. We all have."

Hiccup nuzzled Astrid's cheek, and she closed her eyes as she felt his lips tickle her skin.

"You always know just what I need to hear," he whispered into her ear, his breath hot on her neck.

Astrid giggled. "You always say that. In fact, you said it this morning."

"I know, but it's true." Hiccup lifted his head and grinned at her. "You have always been my council when I'm struggling with something, and one day," he gently kissed her nose, "whenever I become chief after my father, I hope it'll continue to be that way."

Astrid blushed a light shade of crimson as a smile colored her rosy lips. "Whether I'm near or far, I'll always be by your side, Hiccup. For as long as you want me to be." Astrid slipped her hand underneath the neck of her shirt and pulled out the medallion he had given her and clasped her hands over it. "I wouldn't have accepted this gift if I wasn't planning on spending the rest of my days with you, Hiccup. So, when you become chief of Berk, and even before then, I'll stand by you as your confidante, lover and, one day, wife."

Hiccup grinned ear to ear at the thought of Astrid as someday being his wife. He couldn't help himself and kissed her lips, hard. Their lips eventually separated with an audible pop before he muttered, "You'll make a lovely chieftess."

Astrid caressed Hiccup's face, "And you will be one of the best chiefs Berk will ever know."

"Aye, milady," Hiccup, humbled by her response, kissed her deeply once more. He latched their fingers together once again and pinned her palms above her head with his own with no intention of letting her go anytime soon. The young Viking woman's legs naturally fell apart, allowing the Acting Chief to lie more comfortably against her. To her surprise, however, he physically reacted and moved his hips towards hers. A wonderful feeling she could definitely get used to.

When his mouth fluttered down her jawline and pressed tiny kisses along her collarbone, she bit her lip at the euphoria she was feeling, and her body went on autopilot, wrapping her legs around his hips to keep them anchored right where she wanted them.

Crazy sensations built up between both of them, and neither wanted to stop anything they were doing but knew they had to.

Hiccup lifted his mouth off of hers and dropped his head between her neck and shoulder. Astrid brought her hand to his head and threaded her fingers through his unruly mane as she let out a slow breath the moment Hiccup ceased all movement against her.

"We should probably head back," Hiccup whispered into her ear, causing shivers down her spine. Astrid shook her head slowly.

"I don't want to just yet."

"Eventually, they will start looking for us." Hiccup reminded her as he slowly lifted off of her and slid off the rock. He extended his hand. "Milady?"

Astrid thought for a moment, and her face grew hot. Going back was the last thing she had on her mind right now. "Let them look; I'm not read y to go back yet."

Hiccup's hand dropped. "Oh…. Then… what _do _you want?"

Astrid looked around and then pointed to the cave behind them, near where Stormfly and Toothless were playing. "You and me. In there."

Hiccup's mouth grew instantly dry. "I-in there? Y-you and me as in m-me and you?" He awkwardly scratched his neck and cleared his throat. "D-Doing what exactly?"

Astrid took his hand and began leading him away from the rock and towards the cave. "Oh, a little bit of what we were just doing and possibly more." She answered confidently, but even he could see the blush evident on her face.

"M-More?"

"More." Astrid confirmed, holding Hiccup's hand tightly. When they were standing in front of the cave's interest, Astrid surprised Hiccup by pinning him against the rock with a determined smile across her lips. "You're about to leave for an undetermined amount of time, Hiccup. And I want to spend as much as the time we currently have together _with _you, wherever that'll lead."

Oh boy. He audibly gulped. He was in trouble.

* * *

**WriterFreak001**

**For some reason, this chapter was hard to write. When editing it, I just about doubled the content and still feel a little unsatisfied with it, but this chapter is necessary to move the story along. Hiccup and the gang actually won't leave for Berk until the fourth installment so there's still some setting up to do in Chapter 3. **

**Hopefully, you like this chapter all the same. I still feel like the cahracters are a bit OOC, but I tried not to make it too apparent. Please let me know your thoughts about this chapter! :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**WriterFreak001: **

SO SO SO SO SORRY about the long wait! I hope you enjoyed reading the other writers' fanfiction stories during this long break! There are some really great ones out there! Anyway, here's the next chapter! :D

* * *

_"If you listen to the wind very carefully, you'll be able to hear me whisper my love for you." _**― **Anonymous

* * *

**Prepare for the Storm**

**Chapter Three**

Fishlegs wiped his brow as he handed Meatlug another rock as an award for her good behavior. He smiled and patted his lovely girl's head before hugging her. He picked up another rock, but as Meatlug opened her mouth in anticipation, he tossed it towards the reject pile due to its irregular shape and impure properties. "Not that one, Meatlug," Fishlegs chuckled, giving Meatlug a soft rub underneath her chin. "I don't think you would like that kind of rock."

Meatlug jiggled happily as Fishlegs bent down to pick up a different one before plopping it into his dragon's mouth. As Meatlug chewed on the crumbly goodness, Fishlegs picked up some other rocks and walked over to the other Gronckles before tossing them the rocks. As they eagerly munched on their lunch, Fishlegs returned to Meatlug and lightly scratched the area behind her ears. "Who's a good girl?"

"I could barf," Snotlout grimaced as Fishlegs frowned.

"Don't pay attention to him, Meatlug," Fishlegs muttered to his dragon as he continued massaging her tough skin. "He's just a muttonhead – it's not his fault he can't help it," he said a little louder with a smirk.

"Ha-ha. Very funny." Snotlout rolled his eyes dramatically as he marched towards the Gronckle and her rider.

"First of all, why are you here? And second, why are you only wearing your underwear? Fishlegs asked with a hint of annoyance, not liking how the other Viking ruined his moment with Meatlug.

Snotlout crossed his arms and grinned. "Extracting that Monstrous Nightmare saliva is messy business. Got saliva all over my tunic. Since it's the only one I have that's _not _packed, I'm waiting for it to dry. As for your other question, Gobber wants to know if you have all the materials you need for Gronckle Iron."

Fishlegs smiled proudly. "Of course. I have a stash of the ingredients at home on Berk. Even if I didn't have that, the rocks in the recipe aren't hard to locate."

"Yeah. Whatever," Snotlout didn't leave any room for comment as he whipped around and stormed back up from the way he came. But then, out of nowhere, he started sprinting towards Fishlegs. "I forgot to ask," he exhaled loudly as he grasped his poor, feeble heart, "Do you know where Hiccup or Astrid are?"

"No clue. Saw Hiccup fly away after speaking to Gobber, but I think Astrid's been gone pretty much all morning. Why?"

"No reason," Snotlout shrugged casually. "But do you think… they're _together_?"

"Define 'together'?"

"Sneaking away from us and doing the nasty somewhere else on the island," The Snot smirked when he saw Fishleg's grimace.

"First off, ewww. Second, I don't think Astrid and Hiccup are like that… I've only seen them share brief kisses." Fishlegs replied as he noticed Ruff and Tuff in the distance, making their way towards them.

"Hah!" Snotlout crossed his arms and smirked. "As if! Hiccstrid heavily makes out on a daily basis; trust me! I've seen them nearly screw each other's' brains out with how hot and heavy they've been recently. I mean, just yesterday they were in the stables, letting their freak flags fly. I think Astrid was brushing dirt off of Stormfly when Hiccup surprised her with a bear hug from behind.

"And then, things spiraled from one thing to to another; next thing I remember was seeing them practically banging with clothes on. I bet they didn't think anyone was watching, but I saw them as clear as day. So, I stand by my original theory that they're probably somewhere on this island gettin' naked."

Fishlegs blushed deeply at Snotlout's insinuation. "Okay, so maybe Hiccup and Astrid are closer than I thought…, but that doesn't mean… I mean, Hiccup and Astrid know that they are not supposed to bed each other until the night of their wedding ceremony…"

"Sure, they know it, but I don't think they care," Snotlout chuckled as he picked up a pice of rock and tossed it towards the beach water. Hookfang glanced at his rider and rolled his eyes before walking away, not caring about where the rest of the conversation would lead. "I mean, according to my father, as long as it's within one year of the chosen wedding date, it's not frowned upon for betrothed couples to sleep together."

Snotlout picked up another rock and aimed it towards the water again, but this time, he accidentally misfired, and the tiny rock smacked Hookfang in the side. The dragon immediately snarled at his rider and as he swung his tail to smack Snotlout away, the brawn Viking ducked just in time.

"Haha! You missed!" He pumped his fists into the air, exclaiming, "Snotlout! Snotlout! Oye! Oye! Oy—OOMPH!"

Without warning, Hookfang's tail smacked against Snotlout's opposite side, sending the boy off his feet and hurling towards the rejected pile of rocks. Fishlegs cringed at the impact as Hookfang snickered quietly before trudging along.

"Are you… okay?" Fishlegs walked closer to Snotlout as the barbaric Viking clambered to his feet.

"I'm fine," he grumbled as he shot Hookfang a glare even though the Mostrous Nightmare couldn't see him at the moment. "I swear, that dragon's going to be the death of me one day."

Fishlegs opened his mouth to comment, but was cut-off by Tuffnut.

"I beg to differ," the scrawny, blonde Viking slowly rubbed his chin as he approached Snotlout with Ruffnut and the Zippleback behind him. "You see, compared to Hookfang, you're nothing but a shirtless spec of dust. He could crush you at any moment or burn you alive. The only reason you're not dead yet, my friend, is because Hookfang doesn't feel threatened by you. Like it or not, Snot, but _you _are not worthy of Hookfang's murderous antics."

"Yeah," Ruffnut crossed her arms and nodded with a smirk. "Hookfang could destroy you in seconds if he wanted – but because you're nothing but a thorn on his side, the most he does is tolerate you… By the way," her eyes moved to Snotlout's hairy chest, "there's still some Monstrous Nightmare saliva on your chest… Probably should do something about that so it doesn't dry on your chest hair… Otherwise, one tiny torch from Hookfang could light you on fire."

"Babe," Snotlout grinned as he threw an arm around Ruffnut, "I'm already _on _fire."

"Gross," Ruff cringed as she grabbed Snotlout's hand and twisted it off her shoulder. She moved away from the Snot as the short Viking crossed his arms and rolled his eyes as if her rejection hadn't stung him in every way imaginable.

"My sister is right on all accounts, Snottikins. Especially the horrors of dried up Monstrous Nightmare saliva! Believe me, we should know. Aunt Bernice died that way once." Tuff sighed as he made his way towards the red dragon.

"Aunt Bernice actually survived, but we thought she was dead, and then two months later, she accidentally fell and ended up dying from being impaled in the stomach by a tire spoke." Ruffnut shuddered at the memory, and Tuffnut continued without giving Snotlout room to respond.

Tuff gestured towards Hookfang and grinned, "A Monstrous Nightmare is a magnificent creature we all need to respect; while H has the power to cook you alive, you have to admire his level of restraint."

Snotlout marched up to Hookfang, pushing Tuff aside and rested his hand on the dragon's side. "Why are you guys treating me like I don't care about my dragon?" He spat into his palm and rubbed his saliva onto Hookfang's scaly skin. "You see? I care. I'm treating his wound and making sure his skin doesn't dry out."

"You mean the wound that's on his other side?" Fishlegs cocked an eyebrow, wondering what in the world was going on inside that brawn Viking's head.

Snotlout froze his movements before clenching his fists. "I KNEW THAT!"

Without warning, he stomped around the fiery beast and noticed a small red spot on the dragon's skin. He repeated his actions and gently rubbed his saliva over the wound, but his hand applied too much pressure, causing Hookfang to flinch and whack Snotlout in the stomach with his tail again. The Viking was sent flailing backwards before landing in the beach water while everyone else laughed.

Snotlout frowned as he shot out of the water and marched towards Hookfang. "Hey! Watch it! I'm trying to help you!"

Hookfang shook his head in dismay and flew off to somewhere else on the island, not wanting to be bothered anymore.

"HOOKFANG! GET BACK HERE!" Snotlout shouted at the top of his lungs, only to be ignored by his peeved dragon.

As the three other riders watched Snotlout storm off in the direction of Hookfang, all three of them shared the same look before turning their attention to the floating pair of skivvies in the water.

"How long do you think it's going to take him to realize…?" Fishlegs started but immediately, they heard a girly scream coming from Snotlout's direction.

"I think he just realized," Ruffnut smirked as Tuffnut chuckled under his breath.

The male twin backed away from the other two and picked up a long stick before dipping it into the water to fetch the floating skivvies. "He's going to come back for these," Tuffnut deduced as he picked up Snotlout's undergarment and smirked before tossing them in the air. "Barf! Belch! Do your thing!"

The Zippleback ignited the flinging wet material on fire with their gas and spark abilities, causing the white cloth to disintegrate into ashes.

"Tuff, that was mean," Fishlegs tried to argue but let out a quiet laugh. "But highly necessary in my opinion. Maybe he'll learn a thing or to about humility."

"Best decision ever, bro," Ruffnut grinned ear to ear as she walked up to her brother and patted him on the back.

Tuffnut shrugged earnestly and then smiled slowly. "Just looking out for the team, that's all."

* * *

Hiccup was, at best, surprised when Astrid led him into the deepest part of the cave only to find a small, blazing pyre to illuminate the large cavernous space around them and a few layers of already laid-out furs laying on the hard ground. His eyebrow cocked as she released his hand and sat down on top of said furs, but then he smirked and let out a quiet chuckle. "I'm impressed, Milady. You planned this little rendezvous, didn't you?"

The beautiful, blonde Valkyrie shrugged casually, pretending to play innocent. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

"Uh-huh. Yeah. Sure." the Acting Chief was unconvinced but continued smiling as he playfully rolled his eyes. Shaking his head in mock dismay, he took a seat next to her, and their fingers naturally laced together again as their eyes made contact with their dragons.

"Hey," Hiccup motioned to Toothless, "guard the entrance. Chase all visitors away, and if Snotlout tries to peek after a first warning, I give you my permission to zap his butt." Toothless instantly retracted his teeth and beamed brightly at the instructions before whirling around and making his way towards the entrance.

Stormfly, however, stayed behind and cocked her head with curiosity while waiting for her rider's instructions. The Shield Maiden gave her beautiful girl a smile and softly said, "Go with Toothless, Stormfly. If the _twins _try to peek, I give you permission to throw spines at them." Stormfly slowly approached Astrid and nuzzled her beak against the blonde maiden's cheek before peeling away and following Toothless. Astrid then noticed Hiccup's cockeyed expression. "What?"

"You do know that Stormfly's spines could kill them…" Hiccup pointed out the obvious, but his betrothed only shrugged.

"Ruffnut and Tuffnut have survived worse," was her only reply, causing the Night Fury rider to chuckle, admitting she was right. "And besides, Stormfly wouldn't bother trying to kill them – she's a proud dragon, and those two wouldn't be worth the effort. I'm sure…"

"To be honest, they'd probably think Stormfly was starting a game with them," Hiccup snorted, his theory causing Astrid to burst out laughing.

"And then they'd collect all of the spines and start throwing them at Snotlout," Astrid added as she wiped away a tear. Hiccup tilted his head back and guffawed. "Oh, yeah," she grinned wickedly. "Totally going to be my next training exercise for all of them. Let's just see how fast those muttonheads can outrun a Spine-shooting Deadly Nadder."

Hiccup smirked. "Can't be too different from watching them run from a Axe-wielding, Deadly Astrid, can it?"

"Damn straight," she nodded without hearing what he actually said, instantly falling for his trap. "Hey!" she exclaimed after a beat and aimed to punch his shoulder, but expecting that reaction, Hiccup easily caught her fist and gripped her wrist, surprising her completely. A lopsided smile colored Hiccup's lips as he gently tugged on her arm, carefully and swiftly swinging her towards him until she was sitting on his lap. Naturally, her legs wrapped around his waist, and a smirk pulled at her lips. "Sneaky move. You totally anticipated my punch, didn't you?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he feigned innocence with a playful grin, and Astrid shook her head, laughing. "But really," he added a few moments later after quickly pressing a kiss to her cheek, "we've been friends for years and have been courting for quite some time now. I think it's safe to say I pretty much know you're every move, Milady."

Astrid cocked an eyebrow and slowly brought her fingers to his head, threading them gently through his thick, auburn locks. She couldn't help herself and said, "I bet you don't."

The Acting Chief of Berk, amused, glided his palms to her hips, guiding her closer to him. And then he smirked.

"Prove it."

"Gladly," she said in her sultriest voice as her right hand slowly slid to his chest. Her fingers splayed evenly on top of Hiccup's heart, and she eagerly pushed the lad downward onto the furs, causing him to gasp lightly in surprise before her mouth crushed hard against his lips in a heated kiss.

* * *

"Where _have _you two been?!" Snotlout – who was now fully dressed – fumed as the couple returned from their romantic rendezvous while the others chimed in, asking too many questions at once.

"Hey, hey, hey! Not all at once, guys." Hiccup chuckled as everyone quieted down, allowing him and Astrid time to explain. "We were spending some time together," was all he said in response to Snotlout's question, not wanting to go into full detail. "You _do _know that Astrid isn't coming with us, don't you?"

They all nodded but were frowning as if Hiccup's answer wasn't good enough.

"I know those looks," Astrid crossed her arms and gave their friends a pointed look. "If you think we're going to tell you what we've been doing these past few hours, then you've got another thing coming," she waved her fist.

"So did you _do _it?" Ruffnut asked after a brief pause, causing both Hiccup and Astrid to flush bright red.

"NO!" they shouted in unison. "And even if we did, it's none of your business!" Astrid added as she mindlessly reached for her axe while glaring at Ruffnut.

"So you did it," Ruffnut concluded with a stoic expression as Hiccup and Astrid grew redder, though from embarrassment or anger, no one knew.

"Everyone!" Hiccup took a step towards the group, his hands clenched in tight fists. "Astrid and I did _not _have sex in the last few hours, no matter _how _tempted we might have been. So cut the crap and leave us alone!" With Toothless and Stormfly in tow, Hiccup and Astrid stormed away, not wanting to answer any more of their friends' questions.

When they were out of sight, Tuffnut turned to his sister, Snotlout and Fishlegs and grinned. "I believe him."

"You do?" Ruffnut cocked an eyebrow as Tuff nodded proudly.

"See! I told you they weren't doing _that_!" Fishlegs snapped at Snotlout as the Monstrous Nightmare rider frowned.

"If they didn't _do _it, then why were they gone for so long?" Snotlout asked out loud as he touched his chin thoughtfully.

"There's tons to do," Fishlegs replied as he crossed his arms and leaned against Meatlug. "They could have had a secret race or went off in search of new dragons… or maybe they went somewhere so that Toothless and Stormfly could play… who knows where they went or what they did, but it's obvious they didn't _do _what you think they did."

"Uh, hello." Ruffnut rose her hand to stop the boys from bickering. "I'm still waiting on the 'Tuff believes Hiccup and Astrid didn't have sex' explanation." She glanced at her twin brother and tilted her head slightly while waiting for his response.

"It's simple," Tuffnut replied with a chuckle, the sneer of his lips reaching to his ears.

"Still waiting," Ruff mumbled in annoyance. "Any year, bro-amigo."

"Well, H and A wouldn't have been so angry if they had done the big bad horizontal flamingo." Tuffnut answered with a smirk.

"Oh. Makes sense." Ruffnut and Snotlout replied simultaneously as Fishlegs sighed.

"I believe the proper term is 'tango.' Not flamingo." The Gronckle rider stated as he lightly scratched underneath Meatlug's neck. His fingers fluttered over her sweet spot, sending her downward in lazy bliss. She rolled onto her back as her tongue flipped out, causing Fishlegs to laugh. "Good girl."

Tuffnut shook his head swiftly. "Not tango. Flamingo."

"Tango," Fishlegs repeated, knowing he was right.

"Hate to break it to you, Fishlegs," Ruffnut placed a gental hand on top of the husky viking's shoulder, "but my brother doesn't say anything he doesn't mean. When he says horizontal flamingo, he means horizontal flamingo. Isn't that right, Tuff?"

"That's right, my sister." Tuffnut nodded firmly, causing Fishlegs to roll his eyes.

"It doesn't make sense." Fishlegs asked with a sigh as Meatlug flipped back to her feet again.

"Oh, but it does, my friend." Tuffnut beamed brightly. "It does."

"How, then?"

Tuffnut glanced at Ruffnut, and she returned his smile before he continued on to answer Fishlegs. "Flamingos, for most of the time, stand only on one leg. Since H has only one leg, he can't tango in bed. He can only flamingo!" Tuff exclaimed in an exaggerated vibrato.

Fishlegs gaped at him and then bit back his laugh. "Am I a bad person for thinking that's a little funny?"

"I think it's hilarious, and I'm the most perfectest angel in the Archipelago!" Snotlout guffawed before wiping away a tear. Hookfang rolled his eyes and swiped his tail towards Snotlout, knocking him over the cliff, causing the Viking Princess to scream.

"HOOKFANG!"

"I rest my case," Fishlegs sighed as Hookfang warbled a laugh. "If you don't catch him, he's going to die, Hookfang."

The Monstrous Nightmare peered down the cliff to see Snotlout still flailing his arms and shrieking like a girl. The dragon sighed dramatically and swooped downward to catch his rider as Fishlegs shook his head in dismay.

"That idiot will never learn."

* * *

**WriterFreak001: **

Again, I am sooooo sorry for the long wait! Life has been pretty busy since I started my full-time job, so this chapter is presenting like three months of work.

I hope you guys liked this chapter.

Next one is still going to be a buildup chapter, but things should start to pick up in the fifth chapter of this story.


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